ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Kiwi, ID Finance, Crezco and more
At FinTech Futures, we know that it can be easy to let funding announcements slip you by in this fast-paced industry. That’s why we put together our weekly In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) funding round-up for you to get the latest funding news.
Indian credit card fintech Kiwi has raised $13 million in a Series A funding round led by Omidyar Network India, with participation from existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Stellaris Venture Partners.
Kiwi raises $13m
Founded in November 2022, Kiwi claims to be the first fintech company in India to launch “credit cards with UPI” by issuing digital RuPay cards in collaboration with banks.
Its mobile application also enables users to make payments using either a credit card or a bank account directly through their phones.
A licenced UPI third-party app by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Kiwi had previously raised $6 million in funding.
The new cash injection will enable the company to further expand its offerings in India.
Spanish fintech ID Finance has agreed a €12 million financing deal with an undisclosed listed European bank.
The money will be used to fund the company’s consumer lending business in Spain, which it claims is its primary profit driver, with over two million unique registered users.
Boris Batin, co-founder of ID Finance, says the agreement is the company’s first with a listed banking institution, adding that the partnership will “unlock a new path for growth and innovation” for the firm.
UK fintech Crezco, which uses open banking to facilitate B2B payments, has secured $12 million in a Series A funding round from MMC Ventures and 13books Capital.
Additionally, Crezco has also integrated its technology into global business accounting platform Xero.
Commenting on the funding, Michael McFadgen, partner and co-founder at 13books Capital, says “it was Crezco’s continued focus on the SME and their payment challenges, domestic and international, that led to our investment”.
Digital loan brokerage platform Lendela has raised $5 million in a Series A funding round led by Chocolate Ventures, with participation from existing investor Cocoon Capital and new investors including Phillip Private Equity and Genting Ventures.
Lendela aims to deploy the fresh funds to drive its expansion across the Asia-Pacific region, while also boosting its product development.
Founded in 2018 and based in Singapore, Lendela’s tech platform connects customers with banks and lenders with the aim to simplify the loan process.
Aptus AI co-founders Andrea Tesei and Lorenzo De Mattei
Italian AI regtech start-up Aptus.AI has secured €3 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by VC P101.
The round was supported by a number of business angels as well as existing investor Fin+Tech, the accelerator of CDP Venture Capital.
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Pisa, Aptus.AI aims to “transform compliance activities from a mere obligation and cost centre into a lever to generate business opportunities”.
The company plans to achieve this through its proprietary AI technology that it says can generate machine-readable versions of legal documents in real time, making all relevant national and European regulations “easily accessible and consultable”.
Aptus.AI claims to be working with clients including Intesa Sanpaolo, Generali Investments, and MPS, while also simultaneously initiating pilot projects with “significant” industry players.
Smarter Contracts, which operates Pulse, a blockchain-based consent and permissions management protocol, has secured £2.65 million in private equity funding.
The follow-on funding comes from an undisclosed existing private investor, less than five months after the company raised over $1 million in equity investment.
Most of the funding will be used to increase Smarter Contracts’ product development and design capacity as the firm looks to cater to the “growing demands” of its expanding customer base.
WealthOS, a cloud-native and API-driven wealthtech firm, has secured institutional seed funding from Barclays Bank, nVentures, and other investors.
The company has raised £2 million in the first closing of the round, and aims to raise another £2 million “imminently”.
Founded in 2019 and currently available in the UK, WealthOS provides modern middle- and back-office technology to the savings, investment, and retirement industries.
Its technology supports features such as client onboarding, tax-wrapper administration, portfolio management, rebalancing, trading, settlement, end-to-end recordkeeping, reconciliation, fee computation, account transfers, projections, and more. It will use this investment to further develop its platform and accelerate its market penetration.
New UK-based wealth management start-up Prosper has launched a crowdfunding round on Crowdcube, with a target of raising £600,000.
As of 24 November, 95 investors (which include a select number of Prosper’s earliest followers) have taken part in the round, and have so far raised £662,160 at a pre-money valuation of £12.1 million.
Of the amount raised, the company has already secured £550,000 in a separate, additional investment.
